AP PHOTOS: St. Pat's day across the nation

A spectator looks on as the Chicago River is dyed green ahead of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Saturday, March, 16, 2013. With the holiday itself falling on a Sunday, many celebrations were scheduled for Saturday because of religious observances. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
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A spectator looks on as the Chicago River is dyed green ahead of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Saturday, March, 16, 2013. With the holiday itself falling on a Sunday, many celebrations were scheduled for Saturday because of religious observances. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
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Patricia Dunne of Detroit, Mi. photographs The Chicago River being dyed green ahead of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Saturday, March, 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
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Members of the Emerald Isle Step Dancers, from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)— AP

Members of the Emerald Isle Step Dancers, from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Kathy Brucia, of Bellmore, N.Y, left, and Kara Kerley, of Wantagh, N.Y., laugh as they watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade as it moves up New York's Fifth Avenue Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)— AP

Kathy Brucia, of Bellmore, N.Y, left, and Kara Kerley, of Wantagh, N.Y., laugh as they watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade as it moves up New York's Fifth Avenue Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Dancers from the Tooromeen School of Dance perform during the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Saturday, March, 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)— AP

Jacob Tidwell, center, and his friends Donavan Mock, left, and Preston Vasquez react to a band during Savannah’s 189-year-old St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. Started in 1824 by early Irish immigrants to Georgia, the parade has ballooned into a sprawling street party that makes for Savannah's most profitable tourism event. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)— AP

Jacob Tidwell, center, and his friends Donavan Mock, left, and Preston Vasquez react to a band during Savannah’s 189-year-old St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. Started in 1824 by early Irish immigrants to Georgia, the parade has ballooned into a sprawling street party that makes for Savannah's most profitable tourism event. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
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People dance during a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)— AP

People dance during a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
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Members of the Petri School of Irish Dance perform at the Ireland Chamber of Commerce 17th annual St. Patrick's Day Breakfast, in New York, Saturday, March 16, 2013. The Irish, their descendants and the Irish for the day prepared to don green and pay tribute to Hibernian heritage as a weekend of St. Patrick's Day celebrations was set from New York's Fifth Avenue to the Louisiana bayou to Dublin's Parnell Square. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)— AP

Members of the Petri School of Irish Dance perform at the Ireland Chamber of Commerce 17th annual St. Patrick's Day Breakfast, in New York, Saturday, March 16, 2013. The Irish, their descendants and the Irish for the day prepared to don green and pay tribute to Hibernian heritage as a weekend of St. Patrick's Day celebrations was set from New York's Fifth Avenue to the Louisiana bayou to Dublin's Parnell Square. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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Firefighter Steve Ortiz of the Los Angels City Fire Department is kissed while marching in the St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. Led by bagpipers in green kilts, the parade snaked through the streets with more than 300 floats, marching bands, military units marching in formation, and dignitaries in convertibles decorated with shamrocks. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)— AP

Firefighter Steve Ortiz of the Los Angels City Fire Department is kissed while marching in the St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. Led by bagpipers in green kilts, the parade snaked through the streets with more than 300 floats, marching bands, military units marching in formation, and dignitaries in convertibles decorated with shamrocks. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
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Doc Foley leads the Yonkers, N.Y., Fire Department Pipe and Drum in Savannah’s 189-year-old St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March, 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. Started in 1824 by early Irish immigrants to Georgia, the parade has ballooned into a sprawling street party that makes for Savannah's most profitable tourism event. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)— AP

Doc Foley leads the Yonkers, N.Y., Fire Department Pipe and Drum in Savannah’s 189-year-old St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March, 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. Started in 1824 by early Irish immigrants to Georgia, the parade has ballooned into a sprawling street party that makes for Savannah's most profitable tourism event. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
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Gaudy green revelers crammed the oak-shaded sidewalks of downtown Savannah for the St. Patrick's Day parade, Saturday, March, 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. The St. Patrick's Day celebration is a 189-year-old tradition in Georgia's oldest city. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)— AP

The Breezy Point Catholic Club Pipes and Drums, from the Queens borough of New York, make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)— AP

The Breezy Point Catholic Club Pipes and Drums, from the Queens borough of New York, make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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John Sanford, foreground center, and other members of the New York City Police Department Pipes and Drums practice before the start of the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Saturday March 16, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)— AP

John Sanford, foreground center, and other members of the New York City Police Department Pipes and Drums practice before the start of the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Saturday March 16, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Members of the New York City Fire Department's Emerald Society Pipes and Drums make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)— AP

Members of the New York City Fire Department's Emerald Society Pipes and Drums make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Spectators watch as the Chicago River is dyed green right before the start of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Saturday, March, 16, 2013. With the holiday itself falling on a Sunday, many celebrations were scheduled instead for Saturday because of religious observances. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)— AP

Spectators watch as the Chicago River is dyed green right before the start of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Saturday, March, 16, 2013. With the holiday itself falling on a Sunday, many celebrations were scheduled instead for Saturday because of religious observances. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
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David Westerby of Kenosa, Wis. left, yells during the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Saturday, March, 16, 2013. With the holiday itself falling on a Sunday, many celebrations were scheduled instead for Saturday because of religious observances. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)— AP

David Westerby of Kenosa, Wis. left, yells during the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Saturday, March, 16, 2013. With the holiday itself falling on a Sunday, many celebrations were scheduled instead for Saturday because of religious observances. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
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Holding flags in memory of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks, members of the New York City Fire Department make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)— AP

Holding flags in memory of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks, members of the New York City Fire Department make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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United States Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Tanner Marshall is grabbed and kissed by a woman during Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March, 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. St. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)— AP

United States Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Tanner Marshall is grabbed and kissed by a woman during Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March, 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. St. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
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Mary Steffens, of Duluth, Ga., holds a cup of green beer in her teeth while she tries to take a picture during Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March, 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. Thousands of gaudy green revelers Saturday crammed the oak-shaded squares and sidewalks of downtown Savannah for the St. Patrick's Day celebration that's a 189-year-old tradition in Georgia's oldest city. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)— AP

Mary Steffens, of Duluth, Ga., holds a cup of green beer in her teeth while she tries to take a picture during Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, Saturday, March, 16, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. Thousands of gaudy green revelers Saturday crammed the oak-shaded squares and sidewalks of downtown Savannah for the St. Patrick's Day celebration that's a 189-year-old tradition in Georgia's oldest city. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
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A sea of emerald green is sweeping the nation this weekend as crowds gather in big cities and small towns to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

In New York, hundreds of thousands of revelers lined the St. Patrick's Day parade route, cheering the marching bands, dance troupes and politicians.

In downtown Chicago, thousands along the Chicago River cheered as workers on a boat dumped dye into the water, turning it a bright fluorescent green for at least a few hours in an eye-catching local custom.

And in Ireland, Dublin's five-day St. Patrick's Day festival was unfolding with a new addition. For the first time, up to 8,000 visitors from around the world were due to march in a so-called people's parade Sunday, when Ireland's capital city also intends hold its usual procession of bands and pageantry.